It's Not Over
by DarkBelieverAnge
Summary: cloud is in a fight and almost loses. someone comes "back" from the dead and helps him. this friend then settles unfinished business with tifa. rated t for safety. please read and review!
1. Endurance

_**A/N: Okay, if you haven't forgotten me, I'm so happy. I have had so much going on… but, I'm not making any excuses. I'm sorry if you had to wait so long. I was busy and on a writers block. What a wonderful combination, don't you think?**_

_**Anyways, pairing is as always: Tifa and Zack.**_

_**This definitely a little AU, because it occurs in FF: AC, when Cloud is fighting with Sephiroth. Well, Cloud is starting to lose, and he needs someone to help him. Tifa tries to help and almost gets herself killed. Someone who is thought to be dead comes back and intervenes. That's what it is so far. Well, have fun… this is one of my first fighting scenes, so lol. **_

Endurance

Cloud panted as he felt a flowing flesh wound. Blood was pouring out of him. He was getting dizzy and he couldn't hang on much longer. Sephiroth just stood there and grinned at him evilly. He wasn't even the least bit tired.

"What's wrong Cloud? You need some help?" he laughed while he questioned Cloud. Cloud groaned. He had to prove himself and get over what was holding him back.

"Cloud! Watch out!" Tifa yelled as she flew past him. Her leather gloves were on and she was throwing punches at Sephiroth. Sephiroth laughed as he dodged every one of her punches and kicks. She started cursing. She did a jump kick. Sephiroth took that moment to hit her in her midsection. Tifa flew back and landed on her knees. She wiped the blood from her mouth and started all over again.

Every time she threw a punch, he would dodge and hit her twice as hard. She was breathing heavily after five minutes. Blood was pouring from all of her cuts. She just grinned and continued on fighting. Cloud watched in amazement.

_Where does all of her energy come from?_ He asked himself. There was only one other person that he had known who could fight like that. And he'd go down fighting, even in the end. He had protected Cloud from death, even though Cloud had thought that he didn't deserve it.

"_She's waiting for you," he had said. "I made a promise and I'm going to stick to it."_

Cloud had never found out what the promise had been. He had just gone back to the city and protected Aerith until her life ended. He had failed in that regard too. But, all you could do was keep on going, right?

Tifa panted as she took yet another hit. She was starting to slow down. She couldn't believe that she had gotten this far. She grinned to herself as she started to throw another punch. She didn't have the chance to dodge the sword blade that went right into her left side. She groaned and fell. Everything went black.

"Tifa!" someone called out. She opened her eyes and there was all white around her. There were yellow flowers too. She groaned and lifted herself up.

"You can't be here yet," Aerith called out. Tifa winced and turned. She looked at Aerith right in the eye.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"He's gone back for you… you can't be here, not just yet," she said elusively. She grinned. "You have to go back to Cloud. He needs someone to look after him or else he gets into trouble." Tifa was looking around for the figure that she hadn't seen in almost seven years.

"He's not here," Aerith called out. She pushed Tifa toward the red light. "I know that you don't want to go back to all the pain, but you have to… he's waiting for you. Remember, never dilly dally shilly shally."

Tifa laughed and nodded. She hugged Aerith one last time and was sent back to the living world.

"Did we do the right thing?" Aerith asked herself. Angeal nodded in the background. She sighed. "I will miss him, though."

Tifa groaned in pain. She felt a searing burn in her side and knew that she was back from the dead. She opened her eyes. She saw Cloud leaning over her. He smiled his half smile and she winced.

"Why aren't you fighting?" she whispered. Cloud dropped his head.

"Because I can't," he said and let her have a full view.

A man with spiky black hair held the Buster Sword and was swinging it at Sephiroth madly. Sephiroth was actually starting to get tired with the effort.

The man was laughing at the effort. Sephiroth finally acknowledged him.

"You've gotten stronger, puppy," he growled. The man stopped and turned his face toward Tifa. Tifa gasped as she saw Zack's face. He grinned his cocky grin and blocked Sephiroth's attack. He winked at her before he started his assault on Sephiroth again. A half hour passes before Zack starts to show weariness. Finally, he relents. He looks right at Cloud.

"This was your fight," he said. "You finish it." He jumps back and shoves Cloud into Sephiroth. Cloud grins and does his final attack. Sephiroth doesn't stand a chance.

"What happened to you?" Zack asked Tifa as he examined her wounds. She groaned when he touched certain parts of her forearm. He frowned. "You broke your forearm. You probably busted both bones. Man, you couldn't keep out of trouble for one minute, could you?"

Tifa shook her head. She put her head on his chest and sighed. She heard his heart beat, and one single tear escaped from her eye.

_**A/N: what do you think of the first chapter? Originally, I had planned for this to be a one-shot, but I said, "What the heck. Might as well make it a chapter story." I have no idea what to write next, so suggestions would seriously be welcomed.**_

_**Please review!**_


	2. Realization

_**A/N: it really took a long time for me to think of an idea for this chapter. I am currently so busy that I'm like a chicken running around with its head cut off. But, I always give thought to my stories. But, this is what I have so far.**_

_**Thank you all for the reviews!!! I loved every one of them!! And the favorites, and the alerts. Every one of them warmed my heart.**_

_**Now, onto the story.**_

Realization

Tifa groaned when she woke up in her bed. She rolled and found Cloud sitting in the chair right next to her bed. His head was drooped and his legs spread out. He must have stayed there all night. She reached out to touch his hand. He came awake by feeling her hand on his leg. He smiled tenderly and reached out for her hand. He took it and smiled into her eyes. She smiled back weakly. Her arm was in a cast and a sling. She couldn't move that arm, but she could with the one that she had reached out to Cloud with.

He finally put her hand down and smiled down at her.

"I've got to get on the road… I'm needed to deliver packages," he said reluctantly. She nodded in understanding. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. She looked up at him in surprise. He had never done that before! What was wrong with him? Or had something finally gone her way for a change?

"I'll see you soon," he said. He smiled once again and left. Tifa closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Zack was downstairs, just staring up at Cloud coming down the stairs. He shook his head. Then, he met the younger man's eyes.

"You honestly think that you stand a chance?" Cloud muttered. Zack grinned a wolfish grin.

"She knows me more than you realize… or does she still think that it was you who saved her that night?" he said without malice. He looked Cloud right in the eye. "She will remember me Cloud, and you won't like the results… but, you can hang onto her for now." He waved his hand and left the bar temporarily.

Zack was tracking down a very old acquaintance of his. He had no idea where the man was, but he knew that he would find him. Zack followed his instincts. They led him to a run down building in section six. He paused and drew in a deep breath. He then went into the building.

"I was expecting you sooner," Reeve called out from his desk. He whirled his chair around and faced Zack. Zack stood there, looking awestruck. He was staring at Angeal's body. He then glanced at Reeve.

"What's the meaning of this?" he asked with a hidden trace of anger. Reeve sighed and got up from his seat.

"This is what I've been preserving. Your body was done the same way. Aerith contacted me through one of her visions. She told me that you would be coming back, then this guy. You both were needed for some big plan. The rise of some ancient culture, that was once like hers. She said that there would be a huge fight and you two, plus one other warrior, would lead the attack. She never told me who the third warrior was. So, I'm assuming that it's going to be Cloud," he said in one breath. Zack looked at him speculatively.

"Why did I come back?" he asked. Reeve smiled a knowing smile.

"You have someone here that you care about, don't you?" he asked seriously. Then, he looked at the walls around them. "I have my science. That is what it has always been, always will be. That is all. You are unique. You have someone that you want to fight for. And, if she remembers you, she'll fight for you too. You are lucky, young man."

"Yeah, well. I've got a little problem right now," he said. He took out the Buster Sword and laid it out on the table. He then touched all the rust spots. "I need you to make me another sword. Since Angeal is going to be waking up, I need another sword. It should be lighter than this one, but more endurable. There's a metal out there…"

"I know which metal it is," Reeve said. "I'll make it for you. For now, you'll have to fight barehanded."

"Easy enough," Zack said. He nodded and left. Reeve smiled to himself. If only the kid knew what he truly meant to Tifa. Then, maybe everything would settle itself. He couldn't know, though, because it was a part of his journey.

Zack started whistling as he went down a street with a huge street market on it. He stopped at a food shop and got something to prepare at Tifa's, he stopped and bought some healing items, just in case and he bought a huge backpack. He sighed and slowly made his way back to Tifa's place.

Just as he expected, she wasn't in bed. She was sitting in her living room, calculating bills. He sighed and put the bags down. He went over to her and sat in front of her. She whitened. He smiled and held his hands out.

"Yeah, I'm really here," he said. Tifa took her good hand and placed it on his cheek. She smiled uncertainly. He smiled right back and took her hand and put it to his heart. Tifa started crying. She put her work on the couch and sat on his lap. She hugged him tightly. His heartbeat was all she could here for a very long time.

A long while later, Zack was in the kitchen preparing lunch. He was dancing to the music that was on the radio. Tifa laughed when she came in and saw him. He grinned and got a plate for her. He set a sandwich and French fries on her plate, and a burger and fries on his.

"Why do you get the burger?" she asked. He rolled his eyes and switched plates. He got the ketchup and sat down at the table. He hummed along with the radio as he put the last things on the plate. Then, he began eating.

"I didn't know that you could cook," Tifa said as she took one bite of the burger.

"Stroking my ego so soon?" he teased. "I learned because Sephiroth would always burn everything. Try having burned water for something to drink, and you would learn to cook."

"Were you and he close?" she asked him. Zack silently contemplated that for a minute.

"We were coworkers… after Angeal died, everything changed. That was when Sephiroth started going mad. Angeal was something of a calming tool for Sephiroth. He always was separating Sephiroth and Genesis from ever doing anything. Genesis was the first one of them to become corrupt." He paused and just stared at the wall. "Everything happened so fast… I couldn't keep up… next thing I know, I'm in the Life Stream."

"What was it like?" Tifa asked out of curiosity. Zack sighed and looked right at her.

"There was no pain. Except for a few times that I can think of. I have no idea why those times happened. It was pure coincidence. But, I just shrugged it off," he said. Tifa nodded, but wanted to know more.

"Well, at least you're back now," she said. He smiled.

"Do you still remember what you said to me the last time we saw each other?" he asked. She smiled.

"Yeah, I wished you a good journey. I guess it didn't end in one though," she said with regret. Zack sat there, just stunned. She truly had forgotten everything.

_**A/N: Here you go! I finally got this chapter done! The next one, hopefully, should be more interesting. But, I have so many things to do, and I can only procrastinate so long. I'll try to do this in my free time! I write it and then change it about two hundred times, but the end result is always what I want it to be!**_

_**Well, until next time!**_

_**Again, thanks for the reviews and the favorites!!! They make my day every single time!!! **_


	3. Implications

_**a/N: welcome to chapter three. Warning, I am writing this on a very tired imagination, so it might not be up to par with the others. So, I hope you review and I hope that you like it.**_

Implications

Tifa just stared at Zack. There was surprise in his eyes. He quickly masked it, but there was a glance of it. She didn't know why. She had told him to have a good journey on their last meeting, hadn't she?

Then why did she have a feeling that something was missing? Everything was fine, wasn't it?

Tifa didn't know anymore. Ever since they had defeated Sephiroth the first time, the days flew by. She couldn't keep anything straight anymore.

Once more confusion set in. she couldn't figure out why Zack had looked at her with surprise. Was there something that she was forgetting? Tifa didn't know what it was, but she wasn't about to ask him.

Tifa sighed. She didn't know what was getting into her. She was never like this around Cloud. He was always telling her how much she meant to him, and she would just smile. She had always felt comfortable with Cloud, no matter what the circumstances. With Zack, she felt comfortable, but like something was missing. She couldn't pinpoint it, but there was something missing. She didn't know what it was because it had been only two days since he came back.

She heard him sigh and get up. He took her plate and turned back to the sink. His shoulders tensed as he began to wash the dishes. Tifa looked at the wall. She didn't know what was wrong, and it was bothering her. She looked around and noticed how dirty everything was. She started to get up to clean, but she was stopped by his voice.

"If you get up out of that seat, I will restrain you to your bed. The doctor said no straining activities because you have about three stress injuries and your wrist is broken. You are not to strain your body. Cleaning is a chore, not a fun thing. I'm going to take you upstairs and make you watch T.V. for the rest of the day," he warned. She laughed at the absurdity of it.

"I'm not joking," he said. She looked at him and then something snapped.

"Why didn't I apologize to you when I had the chance?" she asked. Zack looked back at her confusingly. She sighed and put her good hand to her forehead. "I was dreaming last night, and everything came back… that night, with Sephiroth… it was a bad night. I told you that I hated you and that I would never forgive you. I couldn't believe that…"

"You never had to forgive me," he said gently. She looked up at him.

"I had already forgiven you because I had fallen in love with you… everything else didn't matter," he said. "I died protecting Cloud, who I knew you talked about. That was enough for me…"

"Then why are you back?" she asked him. He shrugged.

"My soul was still here," he said. "At least half of it. You were always holding onto it, and I didn't even know it. Every time you felt pain, I felt it too. I was amazed at the emotions that would run through me at times. When I came back, I figured that out. You were in pain, so I responded."

"Why did you never tell me?" she asked him. He smiled gently.

"Because I couldn't contact you," he said. "Dead don't talk with the living, you know that…" she smiled as he edged closer to her. "But I feel alive right now…"

She sighed.

Nothing mattered on what was to come, or what had happened. All that mattered was the moment.

**THE END**

_**A/N: Thank you for reading this. I know that I had planned on it being longer, but I'm kind of working on other stories. I thank everyone for reading this and I hoped you liked it. When everything calms down, I might continue. I don't know what's going to happen, so I'm leaving the opportunity open.**_


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